The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, Lagos Zonal Directorate 2, on Monday, brought two companies, FARM360 Limited and MCBHADMOS Trans-Atlantic Trade Limited before Justice D.I. Dipeolu at the Federal High Court in Ikoyi, Lagos.
The firms face a five-count charge involving the operation of collective investment schemes without valid authorization from either the Securities and Exchange Commission, SEC, or the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN.
According to the EFCC, the two companies reportedly solicited and received investments totalling N80 million between 2021 and 2022 from multiple people. The funds, however, were allegedly not repaid, and investors did not receive promised returns.
One of the charges reads: “That you, FARM360 Limited and MCBHADMOS Trans-Atlantic Trade Limited, sometime between 2021 and 2022 in Nigeria, within the Judicial Division of this Honourable Court, being companies incorporated in Nigeria, failed to obtain a valid licence from the Central Bank of Nigeria to carry on your business of Investment management and you thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 57 of the Banks and Other Financial Institutions Act 2020 and punishable under Section 57(5) of the same Act.”
Both companies pleaded not guilty to the charges.
Following the plea, EFCC counsel Abdulhamid L. Tukur invited the Commission’s investigator, Nnadikwu Izuchukwu Collins, to provide a summary of the case. Collins testified that the EFCC received a formal complaint on October 21, 2022, from a group of affected investors. According to him, the petitioners claimed that the companies had promised high-yield returns on investments in agriculture and forex trading.
He said the total amount invested reached N93 million, and during the investigation, letters were dispatched to the SEC, CBN, various banks, and the Corporate Affairs Commission, CAC.
Responses from regulatory bodies, he added, confirmed that neither FARM360 nor MCBHADMOS Trans-Atlantic Trade Limited held any licence to operate investment or forex-related ventures in Nigeria. Information obtained from Fidelity Bank revealed that the N80 million gathered from investors was diverted for personal use.
Collins further informed the court that the directors of the two companies remain at large, and ongoing efforts are underway to locate and apprehend them.
The prosecution proceeded to tender several documents as evidence, including the original petition, bank statements, and responses from the relevant agencies. Justice Dipeolu admitted the items and marked them as exhibits.
The case was adjourned to July 8, 2025, for continuation of the trial.
